01
Apr, 14

Happy 101st Birthday, Great-Grandpa Riley!!!

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Today may be April Fool’s, but this is no joke.  My amazing Great-grandpa, Riley, is 101 years old today!!! He’s definitely one of the most incredible people that I’ve ever known, and I’m proud to call him grandpa.  He’s smart, strong, kind, warm, and loving.  I truly admire him and hope to be as great as he is one day.  His smile, laugh and love are genuine and you feel it as soon as you see him.  Happy 101st Birthday, Grandpa!!!

Robert Riley moved from Thornton, CO to Paducah, KY in 2009 to be closer to his son and daughter-in-law.  He’s been living in an independent living facility which provides a private apartment, meals, housekeeping, and activities.  Fortunately, [my aunt Jan + uncle Bob] were able to hire people to help with his personal needs and washing clothes to avoid the nursing home thus far.  My aunt and uncle also have a good home health provider to provide physical & occupational therapy, and professional nursing, as needed.  My aunt Janice keeps him supplied with snacks, juice, Gatorade, and does his other personal shopping for him, so he’s surrounded by love and care.  I also hear that he’s quite popular!

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When I think of my grandpa Riley, I think of all that he’s seen and accomplished so far in his 101 years!  He makes me want to be a better person and to strive to be the best that I can be with no excuses.  In fact, I often think of him, particularly in times of self-doubt, and quickly snap out it.  I think of how happy he’s always been and what a go-getter he’s been throughout his whole life.  He truthfully has to be the most physically active person that I’ve ever known.  He inspires me to keep my mind, spirit and body active and healthy.  I know that I can speak for my whole family when I say that we have such good memories of him and all that he’s done.  Honestly, my youngest brother, Michael, summed it up best in a school report that he did about 6 years ago, when he was about 14 or 15:

 “Air Corps

In March of 1942, my great-grandfather, Robert Wesley Riley, joined the Air Corps. Robert was supposed to go to Aircraft Engine School, but at the time, there were no openings. He had to wait five months to get into the school. During those five months, he had to take five exams, one every month. After the five months were up, the aircraft engine school let him in without a history of any college. This aircraft school was called Hendricks Field. It was in Sebring, Florida. Everyone in the school was either a mechanic or an engineer. My grandfather stayed at this school for three years. He became a flight engineer. What he did was test the planes to see if they were in flying conditions. For five to ten hours a day, he would test take-offs and landings. After his training at Hendricks Field, he went to Chanute Field in Illinois for one month. He worked on gyro instruments. Gyro instruments are engines that spin. Some examples of gyro instruments are automatic pilots and field indicators. After that, Robert went over seas for twelve months as a replacement. Later my grandfather was stationed in India to work on humidity and temperature control in a factory. He inspected the work of twenty-eight Indian workers who worked on assembly lines. He had to have two interpreters because the twenty-eight men didn’t speak English. He stayed there for one year after the Indian war was ended.


Jobs

Robert W. Riley had many odd jobs before and after the war. He worked for Arkansas and Louisiana Gas Company right out of high school. He was making nine cents an hour and got a ten-cent per hour promotion for digging ditches. Then he got into trucking companies. He drove trucks for a box factory in Pittsburg, Texas. They would cut down gum trees on the river bottoms and make would make boxes out of these trees. Then he moved on to hauling produce around. He would haul yams out of Texas to Denver, potatoes from Denver to Texas, then he would go down to South Texas to get watermelons and grapefruits to haul them to Denver. The watermelons made good sales. Before my grandfather went into the service, he laid pipeline. It was construction work, but my grandpa hauled and strung oil pipe all over. His boss knew that he was strong, so he took him off of driving trucks and moved him to working the sledgehammer. The unfortunate side of him being strong was that he had to break concrete in order to put in the pipes for ten hours a day with only a sledgehammer.


Fishing and Hunting

When my grandfather got older, he would go fishing every weekend, rain or shine, with his wife, Helen Riley. He would fish all over Colorado and many other places like Canada. When he went to Canada, he flew in at six in the morning and caught one hundred and forty pounds of fish. It didn’t get dark until midnight. The lake was called Otto Lake and the Indians helped them cook the fish that they caught. They would fillet the fish and quick dry them so he was able to take the fish home. He makes his own flies for fishing and uses different types of feathers. My grandfather also loves to hunt. He’s been hunting since 1952 and has been ever since. In the fifty-six years that he has been hunting, he has only missed one season. He has shot thirty-two elk, many birds, and a few moose.


Great Depression

The year he left home on his own was 1929. He left with what clothes he had on his back and the change in his pocket. ($1.25) Luckily for him, he worked in Texas and could get about any job, which was a plus except for the fact that he worked ten hours a day and only made one dollar. My grandfather was one of the lucky ones to get a job and live through the depression.

Childhood

My grandfather, Robert Wesley Riley, was born on April 1st, 1913. He was raised on a farm and took up farming until he graduated high school. On the farm they raised their own mules and used them to plow. He had eight brothers and sisters to help him with the farm work. He started school when he was seven years old. He walked to school everyday, which was 6 miles to and from school. He went to a consolidated school and only wore shoes when at school. He didn’t have much homework, but if you didn’t pay attention in class, the teacher would not re-teach the lesson. When he was ten years old, he was driving his model T around on the dirt roads.


Brittany Spaniels

My grandfather raised and showed Brittany Spaniels. He had two dogs of his own; their names were Mutt and Jeff. Their registered names for shows were Denver Skyline Rocket and Prince Jeffery of Rocket. They were registered with an AKC book. On November 7th, 1966, Jeff won a certificate for best in show. The dogs would also go out-of-state with my grandpa and help him in hunting birds. He trained Jeff and Mutt by taking pheasant wings and putting them on fishing rods and reeling them in and casting them, making the dogs chase the wings. He also had many training tactics. These dogs were also trained by whistle and were hunting at five months of age. They would stalk and also retrieve the birds.

Today (written 6 years ago)

Today my grandpa is ninety-five years old and lives on his own. He continues to hunt, fish, and walk three miles a day. When the weather is not it’s best outside, he jumps on the treadmill and does his walking there. He has so much spirit, which keeps him going everyday. My grandpa Riley means a lot me. I love him and his great laugh so much.”

Below is an article in the Jackson Oaks Newsletter that was written for him last year to celebrate my grandpa’s 100th Birthday:

Jackson Oaks 100 Birthday-Riley

And this isn’t even half of what my grandpa has seen and accomplished!  He’s living proof that living a good and healthy lifestyle goes a long way.  I’m proud and blessed to have him as my grandpa!  I love you so much grandpa Riley – we all do.  Thank you for being true to yourself and for being such an amazing role model to us all.  I wish we were there with you today.  We all miss you very much and want you to know that we think about you.  You’re an amazing man and we hope you have a wonderful 101st Birthday!  We love you tremendously!!!

I want to thank my Uncle Bob for providing me with the latest photo and details on my Grandpa.  I also want to thank my brother, Michael, for letting me share his piece on my grandpa’s life.  And Thank you to Jackson Oaks for writing such a beautiful piece on him.  So much love!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDPA!  WE LOVE YOU!

16
Oct, 13

{Life Lately} Week 24

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This week Ron was in Pagosa Springs, so I took my family to see the final touches on the house before we close on Friday.  Friday night I took my mom and one of my brothers to see the inside.  Then on Sunday I took my dad and my youngest brother to see the outside (as it was locked).  It was so helpful to have my family look at it and find little things that I had over-looked.  There were a few windows and things that needed to be sealed better.  Our representative assured us that these things will be taken care of by closing.  They also plan to have our landscaping in, too.  I wasn’t able to go inside this Sunday, because they had it all locked up, but that allowed my dad to focus on the exterior details.  He’s a painter by trade, so he knows what to look for.  I’m so blessed to have such a supportive family.  Anyhoo, here are a few photos from week 24.

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Our baby tree in the front yard is in.

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Our AC unit is in and they still need to fix that window well… looks like someone ran over it with the Bob Cat.  Eep!

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My dad pointing out a few things.

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This Saturday we have so many of our family and friends that will be helping us move our things from my parents’ and from both of our storage units (which are of course at separate locations – sheesh).  Then, this Sunday will mark week 25 (the final week of this adventure) and we will officially be moved in to our new home!

 

 

09
Oct, 13

{Life Lately} Week 23

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Week 23 has brought us the most change in the shortest amount of time.  The crew is really wrapping things up, and quickly!  Monday, Ron and I met with our amazing contractor and he did the final walk-through of the house with our Realtor and us.  He explained how everything worked, from the furnace to the care of the granite countertops.  We also went through each room with red, green and blue dots to mark what needed to be touched up by the carpenters, drywallers and painters.  This step really made me very appreciative of the time and care that the contractor and his crew put into our new home.  It showed that they wanted to make it perfect for the day that we move in.

What day is that you ask?!  We close on Friday October 18th at 11am (squeal)!!!  We’re beyond excited to finally see everything in its place.  After all is said and done, this whole process will take 25 weeks to complete.  That’s a long time, but well worth the wait.  I really want to thank my parents for being so supportive in this process.  My dad opened up his home to us and our three fur babies for 25 weeks!  I don’t know how he could stand having us that long, but he made us feel welcome the whole time.  My mom was so kind to let us store a lot of our stuff in her garage and on the side of her house.  I’m sure it was in the way, but she never complained!  This process would have been very unpleasant without the both of them there to support us.  Thank you beyond words!

Below are some photos that I snapped during our final walk-through.  Enjoy!

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Moving day is coming!  I’ll be taking more photos this coming Sunday.  We hope to see the landscaping put in this week and that might be the only other change that we really see.  P.S. I love how the new iPhone 5s takes better photos when the camera is switched to face you, however this photo of me could have been fuzzier and I wouldn’t have minded… hahaha

22
Jul, 13

{Life Lately} week 12

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It’s week 12 of the build already.  Things are continuing to progress at a steady rate.  This week we were able to see the moisture barrier and siding go up, as well as the electrical casings.  So, we are able to visualize where each light switch and outlet will be.  This phase and the next are where our pictures will come in handy for future reference, because we’ll know where every stud is and where the wires are running.  It’s just a good thing to know.

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This is my view from the Kitchen nook looking towards the front entry.

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The secondary bathroom upstairs already has the tub installed, so I imagine that the plumbing will follow here in the next few weeks.  Our jacuzzi tub and shower are also installed in the master bath!  I can’t wait!

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Gotta love my braces in this photo.  That’s also a work in progress!  haha  As always, thanks for sharing in this adventure with us.

01
Jul, 13

{Life Lately} week 9

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This past Saturday we ventured over to Arizona Tile in Denver to pick out our granite slabs for our countertops.  What an adventure!  Their warehouse is huge, complete with a breathtaking gallery and massive warehouse that extends out to a huge courtyard.  I’ve never seen anything quite like it.  We had to wear cute little hard hats for safety reasons, but I have to admit, if one of those slabs fell on me – well, let’s just say that I would need more than a hard-hat.  Eek!  We chose the Barcelona because the coloring and pattern was clean and even.  It’s going to look wonderful paired with our dark espresso cabinets and floors.

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After we chose our granite countertops, we grabbed some lunch, ran a few errands and then went to go see the progress of the house.  We usually go on Sundays, but after leaving Arizona Tile, we were just too excited to wait!  The top story is framed and more walls are starting to take shape.  I found our front door in the garage, and hope to see it up soon!  I forgot what color it’ll be painted, but I don’t think it will stay that tan color.  It also looks like they plan to put in the staircases this week, too, so I look forward to see that!

 

27
Jun, 13

{Life Lately} Week 8

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This is our future staircase… a bit dangerous at the moment, but it should be in soon.  I’m hoping by this week.
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And the pantry is located perfectly in the corner of our kitchen.  I’m so excited to stock it up for the winter!
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Here is a view of the staircase from the basement.
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Wow, I can’t believe that we are already into week 8 into the build.  It’s amazing to see the house go from a hole in the ground to having the main floor framed.  We still have a long road ahead of us, but we are well on our way to our new home.  Smiling from ear to ear.  In other news, I’ve been managing to squeeze in some more social time with friends and family.  I get so caught up in work, that I have to remind myself to go play once in a while.  This week I’ve met an old and lovely friend for coffee, had a mom-daughter night, had a father-daughter night, and have a girls night planned with some lovely gal-pals.  I’m so blessed by the people in my life.  Next week I plan to get busy and work my tail off again, so I’m enjoying this time off.  How has your first week of Summer been treating you?

17
May, 13

{Life Lately} More Packing

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Above are the latest photos of our new home.  The foundation is in and dry!  We plan to visit the site each week to take photos of the progress.  It’s become our Sunday tradition since we signed the contract on Sunday May 5th.  It’s moving along smashingly.

Then, I just got a new wire in my braces on Wednesday and bought some moving boxes to continue packing.  I spent part of Wednesday evening calling around for free boxes.  It’s a lot harder than I had thought.  Most stores want you to come early in the morning, before they compact the boxes in the recycle bin.  My mom and her friends have been gathering boxes for us, too.  I’m so grateful, because at this point, I feel like there just aren’t enough boxes in the world to pack all of our things.  Sheesh.

Today is a bittersweet packing day.  I’m at the point were I’m packing all of the little knickknacks as well as our photos.  The walls are becoming so bare.  I’m going to miss so much about this house.  I’m going to miss watching the fireworks from our back yard every 4th of July, our raspberry bushes in the back yard, our hot tub, our HUGE master bedroom complete with a cozy little nook, among many other things, including the fact that this has been our home for the past 7 years!  This was our first home that we bought and we built so many memories here.  At the same time, I’m super excited for the new memories that we will create in our new home.  I have tons of photos from our current home to add to our new home.  I’m such a sap!

Since our new home won’t be ready for a few months, we plan on staying with my dad.  He lives super close, so it’ll make moving there easy and it’ll be an added bonus to save a bit more money before the big move.  My biggest concern right now is how I’ll be set up to continue crafting without my studio for the next few months.  Once we move in, I’ll figure it all out, but I know that I probably won’t be able to spread out like I do at home.  Ha!  I’m excited and a bit nervous to see how it will all work out.  We haven’t lived with anyone else in nearly 9 years!

26
Apr, 13

{Life Lately} Loss of Wisdom

It’s been a week since I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth and my baby fang removed.  Recovery has been a lot slower and more painful than I had anticipated.  No medicine seems to be strong enough to reduce the pain and it’s hard to fall asleep.  So, I’m trying to tough it out in hopes that things will heal fast.  Since I have braces now, it was strongly recommended that I have my wisdom teeth removed as soon as possible.  I’m so thankful that I never have to do this again because,  if I had known it would be this intense, I don’t think that I would have agreed to do it.  Seriously.

The surgery itself went smashingly-well and I only had minimal swelling (no bruising).  The oral surgeon and his team did a fantastic job and they did everything to make me as comfortable as possible.  Although I’ve never had an IV before this, I was very picky about where I wanted it and they happily obliged.  They also gave me a fuzzy blanket and a heated rice pack to keep me extra warm and cozy.  Once they hooked me up to my iPod and the gas, it was lights out.  The surgery and recovery only took about two hours and then I was able to go home.  I woke up with no memory of the surgery itself.  Perfect.

On the way home from the surgery, we had to stop by the orthodontist to get my wire put back into my braces (I had it removed the night before the surgery).  I don’t remember the details, but it was pretty quick.  Once we got home I was wide awake and felt great for the first two days.  Keeping up on my meds, salt-water rinses and frozen packs of peas pressed against my cheeks helped keep the swelling at bay.  The third day brought the pain and it has progressively gotten worse finally plateauing yesterday.  I went to my follow-up appointment two days ago and they packed little orange strips soaked in clove oil to sooth.  The pain is incredible, but I know it will be over soon.

In the beginning, the ice cream, shakes, malts, etc. were wonderful!  Now, I’m craving real solid food.  A big salad and pizza would be nice.  I’m so hungry all of the time because a liquid diet just doesn’t seem to satisfy me.  In fact, I was so desperate for real food, that I made a pizza and licked!  Sad, right?!  I can’t chew at all, so just getting the taste of it helped.  Yesterday I went to the orthodontist to put my last bracket on the adult fang to start bringing it forward, then they gave me my bite plate.  Take about terrible!  It’s a clear plastic impression that clips on my bottom teeth to prop my mouth open.  This allows room for my adult fang to move forward and “jump” over my bottom teeth.  I have to have this on for 3-4 weeks, so that means I’m still on a liquid diet until then.  Urgh.  After the orthodontist, I immediately went to the oral surgeon to remove those clove oil strips.  It’s been a long process, but it will all be over soon.  I hope your day was great and I’ll be back soon with some more updates on our house-selling progress.

22
Mar, 13

{Life Lately} Packing + House Hunting

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This past week has been full of packing, driving things to storage and house hunting.  Our house will officially be on the Market on April 1st (my great grandpa’s 100th Birthday!).  This weekend, and coming week, we will wrap up the packing and finish staging our home.

At first I was super excited to move, but as we’re going through things and packing, I noticed that I’m getting sad about it, too.  This was our first home as a family, so it’s hard to see us anywhere else.  It’s in a great area and neighborhood with so much to offer.  It’s just that we’ve outgrown it.  I know it’s time to move – if we can get our asking price, of course.  If not, the worst case scenario would be that we take the house off the market and wait for a better time.  Our Realtor and another sales rep, both, told us that this is a good time, so I feel good about it.  I knew these mixed emotions would surface and that’s part of the process.

When we moved from our college apartment, we were so happy to get out of that place!  We didn’t really feel bad for moving.  This time is different.  We’ve invested time, love and money into making this house a home.  In this case, bigger will be better for us if we want to grow our family.

As far as house hunting goes, we’ve toggled between the idea of a new home vs. old home.  Both have really great things to offer, so it’s difficult to make a decision.   The most difficult part for me, is deciding on the location.  There are a few communities that we like, but the location isn’t ideal.  Give and take I suppose.  We have a lot to think about, like location, school districts, home size and layout, commute to work, proximity to stores, hospitals, etc.  It’s a bit overwhelming, but very exciting, too.

I’ll keep you posted on this crazy and fun adventure that we’re embarking on!

13
Mar, 13

{Life Lately} Baby Fang

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Although I’ve been getting a lot done, I feel like I still have so much to do.  I’m thrilled to have the new Chickiedee site up and running, and I’m working feverishly to re-stock the shop.  Aside from all of that, Ron and I have been doing a bit of early Spring cleaning as well as making a few big decisions.  If we want to grow our family, we really need a larger home.  After nearly 7 years, we’ve outgrown our current one – correction, I’ve out grown our current one.  I have so many hobbies and things, that I’ve done a good job filling up our home on my own, hahaha.  So, we met with our amazing Realtor last Friday to get the ball rolling on selling… and buying a new one.  Fingers crossed that all goes smoothly.

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Then, I’ve recently been into the Orthodontist a couple of times for a consultation, x-rays, molds, etc.  You see, I’ve been super lucky growing up by having straight teeth, but I’ve had a baby fang all this time and a few years ago the adult one came in behind it!  Sharp as ever, too.  That adult fang pierces my tongue once in a while – ouch!  I had a consultation when the adult fang first came in.  They estimated nearly $10k and 18 months.  Eek!  So, I kept putting the idea of braces on hold, because that was way too much and way too long.  Plus, I don’t want to look like a twelve year-old… again.  Well, after some encouragement from the Mr. I decided to go in for a second opinion.  I’m glad I did, too.  I should expect to have them on for about 9 months, and at a fraction of the cost.  Although I haven’t given the green light, I think I’m leaning toward yes.  I thought I had dodged the bullet of having to get braces.  Darn.  I’ll keep you posted on what I decide to do.  Have you had braces?  Any advice?